Support Grows for Non-Surgical Treatments to Look Younger: Notes from a San Francisco Bay Area Dermatologist

I find it truly exciting that non-surgical approaches to treat aging skin continue to gain popularity.  As highlighted by Dermatology Daily, Hillary Howard, in the New York Times (11/19, E3) “Skin Deep” column, wrote, “When it comes to treating aging skin around the eyes, laser resurfacing can often trump surgery,” according to plastic surgeon Michael McGuire, MD, FACS. He explained, “If the skin is mildly wrinkled and/or pigmented, the laser can be a good option” that may even “defer face-lifts” in some “patients in their 40s.” But, “the debate surrounding laser treatments is whether to go fractional or cover the entire surface of the treated area.” With fractional lasers, “recuperation time is minimal, but multiple treatments are necessary,” whereas “regular laser resurfacing…requires at least a week of recovery,” but has the advantage of being “a single treatment” producing “arguably more dramatic results.”

Laser resurfacing technology has improved greatly over the last ten years.  These days there is an appropriate resurfacing procedure for nearly every person looking to reduce wrinkles and freshen up their skin.  Particularly around the eyes these treatments have a high satisfaction rate among patients because renewing skin texture is often all a patient needs to look less tired and aged.  While surgery remains an option for lifting and tightening skin, it does little to help with etched lines and often carries more risk than resurfacing.  My office staff and I are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding these procedures and help counsel patients on which resurfacing treatment is right for them.

Tags: aging skin, bay area dermatologist, Dermatology, laser resurfacing, plastic surgery, san francisco bay area dermatologist, surgery, wrinkle

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 6:37 pm and is filed under procedures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.